Kurama Sensed the Presence of One of His Kind

Kushina froze for a moment, then blushed and complained unhappily:

"Not at all. He and Minato are both my classmates, my friends.

"I just don't want to have finally made two friends, only to be separated because of skipping grades."

For someone like Kushina, who had lost everything and was starting over from scratch, her heart was exceptionally sensitive.

She also desperately wanted recognition from others and good friends of her own.

As for romance...

It was utterly unrelated.

Although Chiyue's constant teasing about Uchiha Mikoto made her a little unhappy, what did that have to do with romance?

"All right. Since that's what you think, go ahead and do it. Your sister supports you."

The Third Hokage had already agreed, so what else could Tsunade do?

Force Kushina not to skip grades?

That little girl would be heartbroken.

"Yay, that's great! Sister Tsunade, you're so nice. I'll make you something delicious. You haven't eaten yet, right?"

Kushina happily jumped up.

Tsunade gave a cold laugh. "Forget it. It'd be more appropriate to have that brat Chiyue cook me a meal and soothe my wounded heart. With your cooking skills, just forget it."

Tsunade could not forget how terrifying the food Kushina had made last time was.

Having tried it once, she refused to touch it a second time no matter what.

Unless Kushina was making rice balls.

"..."

The excitement filling Kushina's heart turned into tears. She had been rejected again.

Though her cooking really was a little terrible.

"I heard you applied to repeat a grade today?"

Mikoto's mother looked at her daughter.

Uchiha Mikoto explained awkwardly:

"Yesterday, I jokingly said I hoped Chiyue would graduate early and form a team with me, but Chiyue took it seriously.

"But I wanted him to stay at the Shinobi School for another year, while he wanted to be in the same grade as me. Otherwise, he said he would apply for early graduation."

"So I agreed to repeat a grade."

Mikoto's mother spoke with a half-smile:

"But that's not what I heard. Little Chiyue said at school that you promised to marry him when you grew up. Is that true?"

"Mom!!"

Uchiha Mikoto stamped her foot.

Mikoto's mother smiled. "Chiyue is a good child too. It's just a pity he couldn't return to the clan. That was always his mother's wish. The clan elders, sigh~~~"

Uchiha Mikoto pouted unhappily, thinking:

Even if the elders invited him back now, he might not be willing to return.

A genius who awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan before even turning seven—those old geezers will have plenty to regret in the future.

Uchiha Mikoto did not intend to tell her family this news.

She was afraid her family would let it slip, causing Chiyue unnecessary trouble.

As for when to reveal the matter of the Sharingan, she would let Chiyue decide for himself.

"That brat!"

Whenever she thought of Chiyue telling a group of teachers that she would marry him in the future, Uchiha Mikoto gritted her teeth in anger.

You were still hung up on that playing-house game from when they were children.

And you even said it in front of the teachers.

So embarrassing.

The entire school was spreading rumors about it now.

"White, things are a bit intense tonight."

That night, Chiyue simply could not sleep. White, the Nine-Tails inside him, had been restless the entire time.

The little fellow kept swelling at a visible rate. It seemed that its previous accumulation had brought its Chakra to a peak.

After breaking through that limit, its body began to expand.

Before long, it had grown from the size of a water buffalo to nearly the size of the room.

And its Chakra was surging wildly as well.

None of the tailed beasts were small. Even the Nine-Tails only looked relatively slender.

Compared to the nine tailed beasts in the original Naruto world, his white Nine-Tails had been just a tiny runt.

Now, it was finally growing rapidly.

It seemed that after breaking through the critical point, White's growth rate had multiplied.

Chiyue received no response to his question. White seemed to be in some kind of state of rapid growth.

As for the name White, Chiyue had given it to the Nine-Tails.

There was a Nine-Tails inside Kushina, and he had one exclusively for himself too—a white one, at that.

More importantly, his exclusive Nine-Tails was female.

In that case, he definitely could not keep calling her Nine-Tails or Kurama.

White was the most suitable name. It matched her color perfectly.

White's growth also made the Chakra inside Chiyue unstable.

Fortunately, it did not leak out. Otherwise, the Anbu would surely have their eyes on him.

When that happened, explaining the Nine-Tails' Chakra on him would become a major problem.

White's continuous growth did not stop until close to dawn. Chiyue had been tormented all night and barely slept at all.

Combined with his unstable Chakra, he was utterly exhausted, with two dark circles under his eyes that made him look like a national treasure.

"Morning, Chiyue."

Early the next morning, Minato, who had been waiting at the entrance for a while, saw Chiyue arrive and ran over with a smile.

When he saw the dark circles under Chiyue's eyes, he froze for a moment before bursting into laughter:

"Hahaha, what did you do last night?

"Were you so excited about becoming Sister Mikoto's classmate that you couldn't sleep all night?"

Minato nudged Chiyue with his hand, teasing him with a comical expression.

"Get lost. I wasn't feeling well last night, so I didn't sleep well. What are you even thinking?"

Chiyue shoved Minato away irritably.

Excited?

What a joke. Did he think Chiyue had lived his previous life for nothing?

So sleepy.

He stumbled groggily to school and headed toward the upper-grade classroom, only to run into Kushina at the door.

Minato looked curious. "Kushina, this is the upper-grade classroom. What are you doing here?"

"Because I skipped grades too. You two can forget about leaving me behind."

Kushina raised her little fist unhappily, making it clear that if they dared leave her behind, she would make them pay.

Chiyue: "..."

Minato: "..."

Having backing really was different. They had needed all kinds of explanations and assessments to skip grades, while Kushina had moved up without saying a word.

"Good morning, everyone."

At that moment, Uchiha Mikoto also arrived at the classroom door. She greeted the three with a smile, then entered the classroom with Chiyue.

Inside the classroom, Kushina's smile vanished when she saw Chiyue and Uchiha Mikoto sitting together in the last row, eating breakfast side by side.

"Kushina, what's wrong? Didn't you eat anything?"

Minato took out his lunchbox.

"Thanks, but I already ate." Kushina refused Minato's offer and walked into the classroom.

Minato scratched his head, looking puzzled.

What was going on? She had been fine just a moment ago.

Inside Kushina, the Nine-Tails suddenly opened his eyes and struggled irritably, making the Adamantine Sealing Chains binding him rattle.

"Brat of the Uzumaki Clan, loosen the chains a little for me, and I'll tell you a secret."

Just now, when everyone had been close together, the Nine-Tails had smelled the scent of one of his kind on Chiyue. It smelled like another Nine-Tails.

There was even a faint fragrance within that Chakra.

This left the Nine-Tails somewhat bewildered. When had my Chakra leaked out?

And it even has a fragrance?